Drama and Music majors entertain Franklin College students with a “Musical Journey of 2500 years”
Deree dance and music majors embarked on a Musical Journey of 2,500 Years with 34 students from Switzerland’s Franklin College, who visited Deree as part of their Academic Travel program in Greece.
The Franklin students spent an afternoon exploring the origins of Greek folk music and its links to ancient Greece thanks to the efforts of the Deree students who put the performance together at the Library upper level on October 13.
“To show the ancient traces of Greek folklore we had to start from the oldest preserved song written on papyrus, dating back to 500 BC,” said Professor Tatiana Papageorgiou, from the Deree Music Area and musical director of the event.
With their artistic abilities and the guidance of… Continue reading
Conference consults Plato and Aristotle on business ethics
The 22nd annual conference of the European Business Ethics Network, hosted by Deree College, discussed ancient Greek moral philosophy in the context of contemporary business environment.
The conference attendees debated “Pathos for Ethics; Leadership, Excellence and the Quest for a Sustainable Future”, a topic closely related to ancient Greek moral philosophy. Every year the EBEN conference takes place in a different European country and since Greece was the host this year, the topic was chosen accordingly, explained Lila Mordochae, associate dean, who brought the conference to Deree.
Dr. Joanna Patsioti, head of the Deree Philosophy Department, was the main speaker at one of the plenaries. Her speech, “Socrates and Business Ethics,” focused on the applicability of Socratic methodology to business… Continue reading
Harvard interns gain professional experience while exploring Greece
Fourteen students from Harvard University are working as interns in respected Greek organizations this summer, after concluding a week’s seminar on modern Greek history at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Nafplio.
The program’s coordinator, Oxford- and Princeton-educated Dimitris Antoniou, who holds a fellowship at Harvard, served on the committee that reviewed the 154 applications and essays submitted this spring. According to Antoniou, the hope of the program coordinators is that students will get an introduction to multiple aspects of Greek society — both present and past.
Communication skills, academic excellence and the desire to experience life in Greece are the criteria on which candidates for the program were judged.
Through a series of film screenings and seminars during the… Continue reading
Film Music students go From Hollywood to Theodorakis
Pianist Tatianna Papageorgiou, a Deree College professor, and soprano Lina Orfanou, who has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera of New York, gave a summer session recital that blended Jazz and Greek folk music and left students and professors applauding enthusiastically.
The recital on July 9 was a part of the Film Music course and took place in the events hall (across Starbucks) in the AG campus. Orfanou, a graduate of Princeton University, and Papageorgiou played From Hollywood to Theodorakis, spanning Hatzidakis, Theodorakis, and classic Jazz pieces from Hollywood films of the 1960s.
The audience enjoyed a mix of songs that, apart from their significance and success as film soundtracks, have historical importance for the Greeks, who… Continue reading
Outside comfort zone, U.S. student grows and learns
When I decided to study in Greece for a semester, I was thrilled by the opportunity that lay before me. I wanted my abroad experience to push me outside of my comfort zone and to teach me things that surely only coming to Greece could do. With its rich culture, strong history and beautiful landscape, I knew Greece would change me for the better.
While I anticipated the culture shock and the language difference, I could not have really prepared myself for uprooting to another country completely. In the beginning, I felt anxious constantly and confused most of the time. However, as I allowed myself to take in the true beauty that is Greece, I found myself walking the streets… Continue reading
Hard work earns Deree grads places at top grad schools
Nafsika Bourma enrolled in Deree College in 2005 because she wanted to study communication. Now, as she prepares to don cap and gown and receive her bachelor’s degree on graduation day, she says the college has prepared her for her next academic challenge. She starts a master’s degree in media, gender and culture at the London School of Economics this autumn.
Bourma’s experience typifies that of other Deree students who say the college gives them the chance to excel, broadening their intellectual horizons and opening academic doors at the world’s best graduate schools.
“One of the things I liked about Deree was that you have to work hard to do really well here,” said Bourma, who has a 3.7 cumulative… Continue reading
Stage and technology meet at Pireos Street theater
The theater Theatron held its tenth anniversary and launched itself into the future by combining renovations with innovations in technology and art. There was an event directed by Yannis Kakleas and Greek President Karolos Papoulias also stopped by.
The three-level theater has two polymorphic halls. Antigone, the main one, can be transformed in 12 different ways and host anything from a play to a large conference. The other, Iphigenia, can be used independently or be connected to the main hall. Theatron also boasts three additional foyers that can host exhibitions and performances, and rooms for relaxation. “The sound-proofing is so good that theoretically we could have a rock concert downstairs and a poetry reading upstairs,” said Dimitris Efraimoglou, the managing… Continue reading
Marooned in the past, an islander survives in the present
I waved with one hand, since the second was busy holding bags. It was a Tuesday afternoon and I had just made it for some shopping downtown. The taxi stopped a few feet away from me and I squeezed myself in. What hit me first was a peculiar smell of fruity hair gel mixed with smoke, and a slight odor of sweat.
“Where to?” asked the driver. He was around thirty, with the weirdest hairdo you’ve ever seen on a male taxi driver. His head looked like a pineapple, with short hair on the sides and long locks sticking up on top of his scalp, bouncing frivolously with the slightest move he made.
“Vrilissia,” I responded, making myself… Continue reading
Bananas make ends meet
You can spot them in big roads around Athens, and usually you wave your hand negatively when the time comes.
Han, the nineteen-year-old Pakistani who sells his bananas at the traffic lights of Stavros in Agia Paraskevi, didn’t want to talk in an interview.
He was obviously scared, thinking I might be some kind of threat, so he called somebody on the phone and asked me to speak with him.
The man on the phone said “OK, let me explain it to him,” and Han was given the green light to talk to do an interview in exchange for selling all of his bananas at once.
Han had lived in the slums of Karachi for 19 years before the need… Continue reading
Wellness Center Shows Students How to Handle Stress
The Wellness Center will hold its third annual Wellness Experience at the Aghia Paraskevi and Downtown Campuses on April 7 and 8.
“This event is mainly about awareness on health issues, such as smoking, breast cancer and drugs,” said Christina Drakonakis, Wellness Center coordinator.However, issues like beauty, fitness and nutrition – and even environmental issues, such as global warming -will also feature.
Companies such as Nestle and Nike, non-profit organizations such as OKANA and the Red Cross, and Deree College clubs will give people information about how to adopt healthier lifestyles. And there will be lectures and exhibitions concerning issues as varied as car accidents and image consulting.
Drakonakis says one of the highlights will be the stress and humor… Continue reading